Is Offensive Scaffolding Responsible for the Closure of Sean John’s Only Store?

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Nearly a year ago, P. Diddy’s Sean John sued the owner of the building at 475 Fifth Avenue, where the brand’s only freestanding store is located, alleging that the scaffolding was seriously hurting business. Never mind that terrible recession — the customers weren’t coming in because of the scaffolding, which has been making the building ugly and obscuring the Sean John signage since 2006. The $2.5 million suit claimed that the structures cut revenues in half. But the store, which opened in 2004 and had a lease extending through May of 2016, will close December 30, because, a Sean John spokesperson says, of “inadequate selling space.” The rep assured WWD that the label is looking for spaces in New York and L.A. to open new stores. It’s funny he blames a lack of space for the closure (the store is 3,500 square feet) when last year’s lawsuit admitted that the store had “experienced a steady decline in revenues that continues to the present day.” But Diddy doesn’t do things people don’t like. Diddy does things people like too much.